Bibliography: Cusick, John. (2010). Girl Parts. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978-0763649302
Plot Summary: Afraid your teen has become disassociated from life due to technology? Get him his very own smoking hot robot companion programmed to reward appropriate behaviors. When David Sun witnesses a suicide live online and did nothing to intervene, his parents do just that. Rose is beautiful and funny and every minute learning to be more human–as human as a robot can be. When David rejects her, she is lost. She was created, programmed for him. She decides to do something drastic, and that’s when Charlie steps in and shows her that you don’t have to be human to be a good person.
Critical Analysis: I liked but did not love this book. Granted, I am not in the target audience, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I think part of my problem was especially at the beginning of the story telling David and Charlie apart. Later that became easier, but I think it effected my enjoyment of first several chapters and colored the rest of my reading. Maybe that’s why I liked the latter part o the book better.
There is a definite sense of sly humor and fun infusing the book and the characters that I did enjoy very much. Rose’s “birth” is very much like a teen trying to come to grips with the person they becoming–who are they in this new body and new adult world? Later, after David, it feels even more so, as she searches to find her place in the world after losing the purpose she thought was her reason to live.
I loved the details of the corporation, the companions, the secret clinic where the robots could go to have work done. I also think Cusick does a great job of creating of danger and suspense when the men from the corporation are after Rose and Charlie is doing everything to keep her safe. This title will appeal to teen boys and girls alike, a rare book that, and find myself looking forward to whatever Cusick does next.
Review Excerpts: “With an almost anthropological eye, first-time novelist Cusick digs into the connections people make–physically, emotionally, and technologically….It’s Rose’s growth, with Charlie’s help after she’s brutally rejected by David, which forms the emotional core of this bittersweet and prescient novel, and which make the teenager-as-robot metaphor work so well.”–Publisher’s Weekly
Reviewed from publisher provided advanced copy. Amazon Affiliate: If you click from here to Amazon and buy something, I receive a percentage of the purchase price.
